Chris Bull, chief executive of both the council and PCT in Herefordshire, explains how the county is proving that partnership working at a local level can help protect public services as the spending cuts clouds gather

London's youth ambassador James Cleverly, brought in after mayor Boris Johnson's disastrous first appointment, tells Hélène Mulholland that there's more to the Tories' plans for young people than cracking down on crime

Assessing the fallout from the Icelandic banking collapse was not the easiest way to start a job, but the new head of the Local Government Association, Margaret Eaton, tells Peter Hetherington why she is confident there is no crisis

From anarchist outsider to government insider, the new national adviser to councils on equality and cohesion tells Lucy Ward and Tania Branigan that fairness for all will take more than meeting targets and collecting data